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18 July 2006 : Column 311W—continued
This figure is not kept as a statistic or performance indicator. The notional average for purposes of workload calculation is 25 hours, though with the complexity of cases increasing, this is likely to be an underestimate. A great number of cases that were once the subject of s7 reports are now dealt with earlier and quicker in our dispute resolution programmes. This in turn means the fewer cases subject to s7 reports are those much harder to resolve, and consequently, they take longer. In practice, the variation in cases is large, between 20 hours at the lower end and over 100 hours for the hardest cases.
PQ83521—how many cases are on the waiting list in public law in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, broken down by region.
Our latest figure for this, at the end of May 2006, was as follows:
| CAFCASS Public Law Unallocated Cases Snapshot, End May 2006 | |||
| Region | Public Law Unallocated Cases | Total Workload | Percentage of Total Workload |
Our Key Performance Indicator for this is that no more than 3% of public law cases should be unallocated at month end.
PQ83522—what average length of time was taken to complete a Section 7 case with private law in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each of the last 12 months.
In respect of cases received and completed during the period 1 January 2006 to 31 May 2006, the average duration of a s7 Report (working days) by regions was as follows:
| Region | Number of Days |
Giving a National Average of 63 days.
We do not keep statistics of how many weeks or months these days represent. Cases vary in the length they take for a range of
reasons, such as their complexity, and the requirements of all the other cases an individual practitioner holds on their caseload at any given time.
Child Care
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost of the Child Care Affordability Programme (CCAP) has been in each year of its existence; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the introduction of the CCAP to all other local authorities. [85795]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 17 July 2006]: The Childcare Affordability Programme launched in November 2005 is jointly funded by the London Development Agency (£22 million over 2005-08) and the DfES (£11 million over 2006-08). The DfES contribution is £5 million for 2006-07 and £6 million for 2007-08. DfES is also funding the evaluation of the Programme at a cost of £300,000.
It is too early in the Programme to consider its extension to other local authorities.
Disability Awareness
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision is made within the school curriculum for awareness of physical, medical and mental disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [86346]
Jim Knight: There are many opportunities in the school curriculum for raising awareness of physical, medical and mental disabilities. Through the non-statutory Personal, Social and Health Education framework and statutory National Curriculum Citizenship Education, pupils are taught that differences and similarities between people arise from a number of factors, including disability, and about the need for mutual respect and understanding. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on spiritual, moral, social, and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people’s experiences. They are taught about the causes, symptoms and treatments for stress and depression, and to identify strategies for prevention and management and how to seek professional advice confidently and find information about health. National Curriculum Science also examines how human health is affected by a range of environmental and inherited factors.
Examiners
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are employed as (a) GCSE and (b) A-level examiners in England. [86432]
Jim Knight: No central database is kept of examiner numbers. However, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) estimates that the three English-based unitary awarding bodies (AQA, OCR and Edexcel) contracted approximately 56,000 people as examiners and moderators for GCSEs, A-levels and related qualifications in 2005/06.
GCSEs
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students achieved five or more GCSEs grade A*-C in rural comprehensive secondary schools of (a) fewer than 100 students, (b) 100-199 students, (c) 200-299 students, (d) 300-399 students, (e) 400-499 students, (f) 500-599 students, (g) 600-700 students and (h) over 700 students in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [85972]
Jim Knight: The information requested can be found in the following table:
| GCSE and equivalent achievement of pupils( 1) at the end of Key Stage 4 by the end of 2004/05( 2) in comprehensive schools( 3) , by size of school | |||
| Total number of pupils in school | Number of pupils at end of Key Stage 4 | Number of pupils at end of Key Stage 4 achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE or equivalent | Percentage of pupils at end of Key Stage 4 achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE or equivalent |
| (1) Number of pupils on roll at the end of Key Stage 4 in the 2004/05 academic year. (2) Includes achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Including City Technology Colleges and Academies. | |||
Pupils' Travel
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average distance a pupil travels to school in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas; what steps the Government have taken to lower the cost of travel to school for students in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [85943]
Jim Knight: The Department does not routinely collect information on the average distance pupils travel to school, and an answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, data derived from pupil level annual school census returns in 2005 showed the following pattern in secondary schools by region(1).
(1) Source PLASC 2005. Includes pupils aged five to 15 attending maintained secondary schools (excluding middle deemed), CTCs and academies. Distances are measured on a straight line basis.
| Region | Distance (Miles) |
The Education and Inspections Bill includes provisions that extend entitlement to free home to school transport for low-income families, and will enable a small number of local authorities to propose pathfinder schemes to test innovative arrangements supporting choice, and increasing the proportion of pupils travelling by sustainable means.
SATS
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department offers schools on (a) the allocation of extra time for certain pupils in the SATS testing regime and (b) the criteria which should be applied in such cases; how the allocation of extra time across the country is monitored and assessed; and if he will make a statement. [86273]
Jim Knight: Additional time is among the access arrangements available in the National Curriculum tests to enable children to take those tests on an equal footing. The circumstances in which pupils may be allowed additional time are set out in the “Assessment and reporting arrangements” booklets published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. These are sent to schools in October each year and are available from the website www.naa.org.uk/tests. The arrangements are monitored through the requests for permission for allowing additional time made by schools to local authorities and the National Assessment Agency, and in the routine monitoring of test administration undertaken by local authorities and the National Assessment Agency.
School Premises
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total area of land was taken up by school premises in England in each year since 1996. [86434]
Jim Knight: Data on areas of school sites were supplied to my Department by local education authorities in 2001 and 2003. However, the completeness and quality of the data is not good enough to accurately assess the total area of land taken up by school premises.
Science and Engineering Graduate Scheme
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many international students participated in the Science and Engineering Graduate Scheme in 2005; and what estimate he has made of the number of international students who will participate in the scheme in 2006. [83158]
Mr. Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
2,889 international students participated in the Science and Engineering Graduate Scheme in 2005.
Between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2006 a total of 2,000 international students participated in the Science
and Engineering Graduate Scheme. On that basis it is estimated that this figure will rise to over 4,000 before the end of 2006.
This information has not been quality assured, and is not a National Statistic. It should be treated as provisional management information and may be subject to change.
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